There is no doubt about it that the Yankees are old. However, they have some guys who are chasing down some historical numbers this season in Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran.

A-Rod is chasing down Babe Ruth next on the ALL – Time HR list with just trailing him 714 – 686. If he can crack 28 jacks, he will tie the “Sultan of Swat” and with 29 he will surpass him.

If #13 manages just 23 HRs, he would become the ALL – Time American League HR champ, as Babe Ruth hit 708 of his 714 big fly’s in the Junior Circuit, before tallying 6 more with the Boston Braves.

Rodriguez is also chasing down many other categories like Hits, Runs, RBI, GP, XBH and Strikeouts. Of course he already holds the record for Career Grandslams with 24.

If he can somehow reach the 30 HR barrier, it will be his 16th year of that many, and break a tie with Aaron for that honor.

With Ken Griffey Jr. collecting 437 of 440 votes last night and now holding the highest record for % of votes (99.3%), it stirred up a conversation on Facebook about others either snuck in or ranked much higher than expected.

Let’s start with facts…

Before Griffey Jr., Tom Seaver had held the top spot for % of votes received at 98.8%

Now that we’ve taken a look at how Alan Trammell stacks up against other shortstops in the Hall, let’s take a look at how he stacks up against Shortstops in the Hall from his era which include Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Ozzie Smith, and then specifically against Barry Larkin as he was not in the Hall at the the time this was originally written.

I took a look at standard Hall of Fame stats as well as some simple Sabermetrics and then others like awards, games played at other positions, etc. Finally I took a look at Baseball-Reference.com’s who are they most like for their career. Take a look at how Tram faired…

The Giants won the World Series in 2010 and 2012, and now are in the 2014 World Series – with a great chance to win 3 titles in 5 years against Kansas City. The best teams for the last several years include the Red Sox from 2004 – 2007, the Phillies from 2008 – 2009, and then you would have to place the Giants as the best overall team from 2010 – 2014. Can they keep up the format of winning a World Series every 2 years again this year? The Red Sox (3 Titles), plus the Giants and Cards each having 2 Fall Classics, are the only 3 teams to have multiple World Series Trophies since the 2004 year.

Lou Gehrig is still making an imprint on today’s society. 75 years after the “Ironman” made his famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium in 1939, the disease so ‘aptly’ known more as “Lou Gehrig’s disease – more so than ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

After all of the money raised in the three-quarters of a century since #4 stopped playing, there is still no cure for the disease.

ALS is a neurodegenerative ailment that is as debilitating as they come to the human body.

Before he was known for that, Henry Louis Gehrig, born June.19, 1903 was one of the best baseball players of ALL – Time.

To state how awesome he was would take forever. But he was known best for his durability (setting the consecutive games mark for MLB’ers at 2131 games. A mark that was stopped by ALS.

It took over 56 years for the record to be broken by Cal Ripken.

The Bronx Bombers 1st Baseman clubbed over 100+ RBI in 14 straight seasons from 1925 – 1938, His 184 RBI in 1931 is still the ALL – Time Single year record in the American League.

Gehrig held an OPS over 1.000 for every season between 1927 – 1937

His 3 slash for his career is .340/.447/.632. Only Babe Ruth and Ted Williams had higher marks.

Gehrig cranked out 1995 RBI in just 2164 Games Played, in what amounts to be an average season of 149 RBI. The ‘Iron Horse’ actually topped the 150+ RBI clip 7 different times, His RBI/Game is the highest clip for a career.

There is no doubt in my mind, if he wasn’t cut short of playing, he would be the RBI king,

The man was part of 6 World Series Titles in 7 Appearances, accounting for a 3 Slash of .361/.477/.731 – with 10 HRs and 35 RBI during his 34 lifetime games. Incredibly in those 34 contests, Gehrig reached base 75 times.

During his illness days, baseball made a special exception to induct him directly into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1939.

Showing that his appreciation by the MLB has only grown with time, he received the most votes for the 1999 ALL – Century Team – that listed all the best players from the 20th century.

Derek Jeter has announced today – that 2014 will be his last year in the MLB. After he led the MLB in hits in 2012 with 216, he finished with just 11 knocks in 2013 – due to 4 DL stints and just 53 AB. The worst the team has ever done in his 19 year career, is finish 87 -74 in 2000 (still won the WS). The only time the club missed the playoffs – was in 2008, when they were 89 – 73. We will follow his last season much like we did Mariano Rivera. Endless amounts of respect should be poured out on the road and at home for this man. In 2014, he will enter his 20th and final campaign in the Bronx. The team has never had a losing season under his time there heading into 2014.

The Boston Red Sox started out the season 21 – 8 after their 1st 29 games in 2013. They rolled it all the way to their 3rd WS Title in a decade – but are they the best team in the MLB during this stretch from 2004 – now?

I am sure that Derek Jeter will attempt to play in 2014 – regardless of how this season ends up. #2 has a Player Option for $8 MIL in 2014. It would behoove he and the club if Jeter exercises it. After he led the MLB in hits last year with 216, he is sitting on just 11 knocks in 2013 – due to 3 DL stints and just 49 AB. The Yanks are hoping that Jeter can provide them a spark towards a 2013 playoff spot. The worst the team has ever done in his 19 year career, is finish 87 -74 in 2000 (still won the WS). The only time the club missed the playoffs – was in 2008, when they were 89 – 73.

This season has to have been the most mentally grueling campaign for EL Capitan. Jeter has fought through several injuries, DL stints, and seen his teammates struggle for the 1st time in 5 years.

Despite all of that, Derek Jeter smacked two base hits last night (including his 3315th) – to pass Eddie Collins for 10th on the ALL – Time Hit List (If you are on mlb.com). It was just the Shortstops 11th hit on the year.

Next on the list is long time Brewer great, and Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor at 3319 Career hits sitting 9th. With any luck, Jeter will pass this legend by the week’s end.

Honus Wagner was an 8 time Batting Average Champion – who was a Doubles (643, 9th ALL – Time) and Triples (252, 3rd ALL-Time) Machine. He Stole 723 Bases (10th ALL – Time).. He is ranked as the #4 Hitter in the history of baseball by baseballreference.com (Ruth, Mays and Williams Top 3).

MLB Reports: We are pleased to present you with Baseball Author Lee Edelstein as the newest writer with us at the Reports. Lee will be providing us with great stories about baseball memorabilia on a regular basis.

As a kid I wasn’t much of a ballplayer, but when it came to collecting baseball cards I was an All-Star. As a matter of fact, over half a century later, I still collect them. Of course, the hobby has changed a bit over the years.

For a five-year period, from 1954-58, baseball cards were the most important thing in my life. As winter turned to spring training, I, along with most of my friends, would bug our parents to take us to the candy store, to see if the Topps cards for the upcoming season had arrived. Each year, those first cards, sealed in that season’s unique wax pack wrapper, were objects of unbearable anticipation.

I would arrange my new stack of cards in numerical order, tossing the duplicates into a separate pile. A few minutes admiring the pictures of the players, a rubber band wound tightly around them to secure my precious items, and off I went to catch up with my friends to compare, trade from my pile of duplicates, and flip. We’d attach triplicates to the spokes of our bicycle wheels so that they sounded like full-throated motorcycles as we sped down the street. As the baseball season progressed, our piles got large enough that we employed shoe boxes to store our cache.

Note from Alex Mednick: I am going to be putting together a small project that accumulates all the best players of all time, and puts them together on teams according to their birthplace. For example, in this first edition I will be breaking down players from the United States of America into teams from the 1) Northeast, 2) Southeast, 3) Midwest, and 4) Southwest…(sorry, there really is not enough quality coming out of the northwest to compete with these teams…maybe I will put a Northwestern United States team in a later edition with less competitive teams). Later on I will bring you teams assembled from the all-time greats out Central and South American (Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Panama Canal Zone, etc.) and the All-Caribbean Team (Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Curacao, etc). Also look forward to teams from Japan, Canada and the EU. Should be fun to sort of assemble an “Olympics” of Baseball. I love watching the World Baseball Classic and seeing players fight for their nations pride…but by grouping the teams by region, it might make the teams more competitive. Of course, this is all for the sake of speculation; Babe Ruth was a great player, but I don’t think he will be taking any at-bat’s soon. (Also, please note that I do not lend consideration to relief pitchers in this analysis). Read the rest of this entry →

Chris Carpenter started his career in Toronto after being the 15th overall selection in the 1994 draft. After the 2001 season, the Toronto Blue Jays made a calculated decision not to offer Carpenter a major league contract. He elected for free agency, rather than pitching in the minors for Toronto, and his legacy in St. Louis began when the Cardinals picked him up.

The legend of Chris Carpenter started as a 19-year-old pitching for the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1994. He was the 15th overall pick by the World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 draft. He was a physical specimen built to stand atop a 9.5” hill and stare down at hitters as they stared back at his 6 foot, 6 inch frame. Drafted out of Manchester, New Hampshire, the 19-year-old already had a plus fastball and a nice curveball. By 1997, at the age of 22, Chris Carpenter had broken into the Toronto Blue Jays rotation and was pitching against the best hitters in the world.

As a mid-season call up in 1997, Carpenter struggled in Toronto, hosting an ERA above 5.00 and a record of 3-7 over 13 games. His role in Toronto was mostly to eat innings, and he was there to gain experience and hopefully blossom into what the Blue Jays brass new head could be. He was in a rotation that consisted of the 1996 AL Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen, as well as the 1997 AL Cy Young winner Roger Clemens, so he had some serious mentors to help guide him on breaking into the big leagues. Despite his amazing talent, Carpenter struggled for most of his first season in Toronto and was eventually moved into the bullpen. In 1998 however, he emerged and gave everyone at least a glimpse of what would eventually come of Chris Carpenter, while proving himself to already be a competent starter capable of winning games. He led the Toronto Blue Jays (tied with Pat Hentgen) with 12 wins in 1998, and continued to pitch well into 1999…at least until he became cursed by a spell of injuries. Read the rest of this entry →

The last time the Yankees and Orioles met in Postseason play was in 1996. The Orioles lost that series, and a lot of fingers were pointed at the controversial home run caught young fan, Jeffrey Maier. The Orioles postseason fate may be different this time around against the Bronx Bombers.

15 years later we see a tale that is much more of a David and Goliath story. The Orioles have not been in the playoff’s since 1997 and have finished 5th place in the AL East for the last 4 consecutive seasons. The Yankees, conversely, have made the postseason 17 out of the last 18 seasons. After getting off to a hot start, the Orioles made a trade for future Hall of Famer, Jim Thome, to help add some pop and veteran leadership to their lineup. Even later in the season, when the team still found themselves in serious contention for October baseball, they called up 20-year-old phenom Manny Machado, who wasn’t even alive when Jim Thome took his first swing in the Major League. Now, Manny Machado finds himself playing on the same field as his childhood hero, Alex Rodriguez. Read the rest of this entry →

Note from Chuck Booth: I am attempting to bring the history for each of the 30 MLB Franchises into a 5 part series that will focus on 1. The teams history. 2. The hitters 3. The pitchers. 4. The Team’s Payroll going into in 2013 and 5. (The stadium articles will all be done next summer when I go to all of the parks in under a month again.) To follow all of the updates, be sure to check my author page with a list of all archived articles here.

It took the Phillies 77 years to win their first World Series in 1980, however since that time, they have been to 4 more World Series: In 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2009, while taking home the Trophy in 2008.

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer): Follow @chuckbooth3024The Phillies started as a franchise in 1883 in the city of Philadelphia-and have the longest continued stretch as their original name. It has been a club that suffered tremendous droughts for the player and fans alike. Only in recent vintage (since 1975) has this team come into permanent prominence, with the now Hall of Fame Mike Schmidt entering the league and turning the fortunes of the city. From signing Pete Rose to put them over the top for their 1st World Series Trophy, to just re-signing Cole Hamels to a 144 Million Dollar Contract, the team has been adamantly aggressive in keeping its name amongst the elite in baseballs annals.

One could even argue that the Phillies had been the best team in baseball from 2008 up until the start of this season. I recently named this club the best team from the years 1980-1983 and then again for the years of 2008-2009. But before the likes of: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, or Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra and Darren Daulton, or Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Pete Rose, they were plenty of other men who left a mark on this historic NL Franchise. We will look at all of the significant players that ever played for the club as a pitcher or hitter. The pitchers and hitters will be focused on solely in the next 2 weeks. Let us look and how the team has fared in its history.

Here are the final pitches of the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. Property of Major League Baseball & Fox.

For Part 2 of The 4 Part Philles Article Series: The Hitters, click here.

For Part 3 of The 4 Part Phillies Article Series: The Pitchers- click here

For Part 4 of the Phillies Article Series: Team Payroll and Contractual Statuses click here

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth 3024 on twitter)- I had the privilege to meet Roger Ratzenberger in person while I was on my Guinness World Record quest in April, (yes folks he is related to John Ratzenberger, the guy who played Cliff Clavin on Cheers for the show’s duration, they are cousins.) Roger could not have been a cooler guy to hang out with. I first met Roger on http://www.ballparkchasers.com over 4 years ago. Quickly I saw that he had been to all 30 MLB parks and a lot of defunct baseball parks. His family have been rabid baseball park aficionado’s for almost a century. Roger is a lifelong Mets fan but also has spent many of years traveling to other parks around North America and the World. One of Roger’s favorite parks is Camden Yards.

As luck would turn out, with some re-scheduling on my part, my 30 Ball parks in 23 days Guinness Record ended up with me seeing a game in Baltimore for the last game. I had seen a game with Roger at Yankee Stadium a few weeks prior. At that time, he had stated that he would like to meet me in Baltimore for the final game. So in Maryland, Roger and I also met up with 2 other ballpark chasers in Ken Lee and Lori Martini. This was a set of 4 ballpark chaser extremists. All of us have been to the 30 MLB Parks. It was Roger though, who was our tour guide in Baltimore. We managed to get the game in with constant rain fall. The 4 of us also got together for 2 more games at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field afterwards to celebrate the record. Here is the interview I did with Roger about Camden Yards.Read the rest of this entry →

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- There is only so much one can read in an article, otherwise I would make these lists up from the turn of the 20th century. If you gave me enough time as a reader, I promise to backdate this topic with another article featuring the best teams dating back further in years. Eventually, all of the years may be dissected and we can have a healthy debate on some of my selections. I really started watching baseball in the early 1980’s. As I became older and discovered ways to research the history of the game, my knowledge and curious mind grew for more information. I have studied and read baseball stat books and breezed through the odd Bill James novel. If I ever take a break from writing or baseball park chasing, I may find some time down the road to watch the 9 part PBS documentary that Ken Burns did on baseball’s history.

Baseball lends itself more to the history than any other sport because of how it has been chronicled throughout their past. Writers, announcers, former players, parents etc.. have always carried on with the stories of America’s favorite pastime. I will never be sold that NFL is the greatest pastime in sports right now. NFL is the greatest gambling sport presently. It is my firm belief that the only reason why the NFL draws in more cash from its sport is because of the gambling factor. If you took that aspect out of it, I believe baseball is the #1 sport. Can you imagine how much attention we would pay to baseball if there were only a 16 game schedule? Enough with that rant, let’s get down to the list. Who were the best teams at any specific time period for the last 32 years? We will start with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1980-1983. Read the rest of this entry →

‘Hammering’ Hank passed the legendary Babe Ruth as the ALL-Time HR leader in 1974. Some still feel that he is the ALL-Time HR leader with the admitted steroid use from Leader Barry Bonds. –Photo courtesy of goldenagebaseballcards

Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Writer and @chuckbooth3024 on twitter)- Seemingly gone are the days where most of the MLB players stick with one team for their whole careers. As of right now there are not too many superstars that have spent their entire careers with one organization. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are 1st ballot Hall of Famers. Chipper Jones should make the BBHOF. Todd Helton is close to retiring but I am not sure the voters will see him worthy. There are some promising chances that Ryan Braun and David Wright might play their entire careers with their current clubs, however with Braun’s PED fiasco last year I just don’t see him entering Cooperstown. Wright must re-sign with the ownership hemorrhaging, this will prove hard for the Wilpons funds thanks to Bernie Madoff. When it comes to starting pitching, the list is shrunken that much further. Justin Verlander is the active win leader with a player only having played for one team. He has 114 wins with the Tigers, anybody above him on the active ALL-Time Wins list has pitched for multiple teams already. The next active leader for one team pitched for is Ervin Santana with 91 wins for the Angels franchise. Felix Hernandez has 90 wins for the Mariners. Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels and Matt Cain have played their entire careers for the same team so far and have CY Young titles amongst them, but have a long way to go in establishing Hall of Fame Careers.

That brings me to my next stat. There are 9 players in history who have hit 500 HRs or more for one team. All of them are in the Hall of Fame except for Barry Bonds (who becomes eligible next year.) I am not sure the writers will cast a vote for him because of his steroid use. When I got the idea for this article, it came to be because I was amazed that Paul Konerko has hit over 400 HRs with the Chicago White Sox. Again at age 36, Konerko has a look at 500 HRs with the Chicago team. Right now he can end the season with about 410-420 HRs. Provided he can play 3-4 years more and have productive seasons, he may reach the milestone. Chipper Jones is the only other active MLB Player to have 400 HRs with one team. Larry is slowing down though and will most likely retire after this year. Read the rest of this entry →

Sully Baseball In Memoriam Video For All Baseball Family Who Passed From 2015 ASG – 2016 ASG

The Last No – Hitter For Each MLB Franchise Updated For Jake Arrieta Apr 21, 2016

The Last No - Hitter For Each Franchise -Updated every time there is a new no - hitter - click picture

Daily Roto Help DFS Picks

The Last Cycle For Each MLB Franchise – Updated for John Jaso 9/28/16

The Last Cycle For Each Franchise - Updated every time there is a new cycle- click picture

The MLB BallPark Pass-Port Is A Must Purchase For Those Planning To See All 30

The Ballpark Passport is quickly becoming the favorite item among Ballpark Chasers, to chronicle their life goal to see all 30 Major League Parks. You are able to receive the stamps kit for a small additional price. At around $75 all combined, it will contain one of the biggest memento's ever for a Ballpark Chaser's best bucket list wish ever#Greatgiftidea

The Top 50 Contracts ALL – Time in the MLB – Updated For The Stephen Strasburg Extension

A look at the richest 50 MLB Contracts Of ALL - Time. Click the picture

The Phillies have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Daniel Nava, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter. Nava, 33, spent last year with the Angels and (briefly) the Royals. It has been some time since Nava was a productive major leaguer. He put up a roughly league-average batting line in 2014…

The Dodgers have outrighted utilityman Charlie Culberson, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweets. With the move, Los Angeles has one opening on its 40-man roster. Culberson, 27, saw only 68 plate appearances last year with the Dodgers, hitting .299/.309/.388 with a single home run. But he made that dinger count: it…

Brewers righty Phil Bickford has been hit with a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bickford reportedly tested positive for marijuana before being drafted in 2015. Players on 40-man rosters are not at risk of suspension for marijuana…

DECEMBER 9: Arizona appears to have acknowledged the signing via Twitter, with a clever nod to Rodney’s post-save, arrow-shooting celebration. Jack Magruder of Fan Rag tweeted the details of the incentives clause, which he says maxes out at $4MM. That includes $250K apiece if and when Rodney reaches 40, 50, and 60 appearances, with a…

The Tigers have announced a barrage of minor-league signings, most notably including a reunion with former Detroit infielder Omar Infante. Other players receiving Spring Training invites include pitchers Ruben Alaniz, William Cuevas, Logan Kensing, Dustin Molleken, as well as catcher Miguel Gonzalez. Infante, who’ll soon turn 35, enjoyed two prior runs in th […]